The reasonably priced On Stage IIIP works with both iPhone and iPods, providing a full sound considering its relatively compact frame, but it has some shortcomings.

JBL's On Stage IIIP is the second Apple approved speaker dock, which bears the official "Works with iPhone" sticker. (Altec Lansing's $200 T612 was the first.) At $170, the On Stage IIIP is a reasonably priced and delivers quality audio for its size. Since it's made specifically for the iPhone, you don't have to put the phone in Airplane mode to use the dock, and you won't get any GSM buzz with your tunes. The device has its flaws, including a remote that offers full iPod navigation (yes, it works with iPods, too) yet lacks button sensitivity, but since there aren't many dedicated iPhone docks out there, the On Stage IIIP is worth a look.

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The attractive black frame, which is 6 by 1.75 inches and circular, houses four driverstwo of each on opposite sidesprojecting sound outward. The only two buttons on the front face of the device are volume up and down controls; in between them is a power LED indicator, and the iPhone or iPod sits behind that. (Several tray fittings are included for iPhone and various iPod models.) The rear panel features a 3.5mm audio-in jack for non-iPod music sources, as well as the power button and an AC adapter jack. Underneath it all, on the bottom panel, is the battery compartment that houses 6 AAA cells, which JBL claims will get you 12 hours of playback should you decide to wander away from a power source.

The remote looks and feels flimsyit's a simple lightweight membrane-button controller with no screen. But unlike the Apple remote for AppleTV, another simple membrane-button remote, it integrates excellent navigationin theory. The remote contains controls for volume, to play and pause, to mute, skip forward and backward, scroll up and down, access the menu. In other words, with practice, you can basically get to any content on your iPhone or iPod, which is certainly not true of most iPod dock remotes out there. Unfortunately (and here's the "in theory" part), the buttons are not very responsive; you can be pointing the remote right at the dock from less than a foot away and get no response. My problems with this were inconsistent, so if it's any consolation, this likely won't always occurnor is it uncommon for a cheap remote.

For such a small device, there is an impressive fullness to the sound. No, you don't get overwhelming bass, but there is certainly a stronger low-end frequency presence than I expected. Indeed, there's probably enough bass response to tick off the next-door neighbors in a hotel or dorm room. JBL applies "computer-optimized equalization" and some dynamic compression to the speakers' output. This is a fancy way of saying that the company makes an attempt to minimize distortion at high volumes and boosts certain frequency ranges to make the speakers sound a bit crisper and deeper. The drivers can't handle, for example, the deep bass of "Silent Shout" by The Knife at high volumes, but I wouldn't expect speaker dock this size would.

Answering incoming calls on your iPhone while tunes are playing is a snap. The music mutes, just as it would if you were wearing earphones, and if you accept the call you can use the speakerphone. When making or receiving calls, you can either switch to iPhone's built-in speaker or just pick up the phone up the old-fashioned way.

I wish the On Stage IIIP came with some sort of protective carrying case or pouchthe device is small, flat, and, at 1 pound, fairly lightweight, but it could easily get scratched by a floating set of keys, a pen, or anything else sharp inside a bag or suitcase. And it's likely to be crushed if tightly packedplastic just isn't a resilient material.

The bottom line, however, is that the On Stage IIIP packs an aural punch and is only the second dock to solve the iPhone GSM buzz problem by implementing Apple's "Works with iPhone" circuitry. The price is reasonable for these features in a portable device, so while an unresponsive remote and the lack of carrying case are bummers, they're not deal breakers.

JBL On Stage IIIP

JBL On Stage IIIP

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